In this essay I will be analysing my contribution to the Commedia del' Arte research project, with specific reference to Music Hall.
Music Hall performances developed in saloon bars and public houses throughout the 1830’s. Audiences were expected to eat, drink and chat during the show. Their participation was also encouraged, even if it meant heckling or throwing things at the performers. This made for a chaotic and vibrant new style of entertainment renowned for its inclusive atmosphere. The popularity and reputation of Music Hall boomed, and into the 1850’s many of the public houses were demolished to make way for purpose-built Music Hall theatres, such as the 700 seat ‘Canterbury Theatre’ in London. Built by Charles Morton, it was considered the ‘Father of Music Halls’.
The Halls provided an opportunity for anyone with a talent to earn a decent living on the stage. In particular they were considered a rare source of empowerment for working class women, allowing some of them to make an independent career for themselves. In this way Music Hall and commedia shared many values, allowing both sexes equal opportunities on the stage and being dominated by working class traditions.
In preparation for our presentation, there was one key point we made crucial to convey to our audience: the links between Commedia del’ Arte and Music Hall. We split up smaller points that needed to be covered and went about the research for them individually. When we came together, we focused on the best possible way to present our presentation, making it clear and informative but without losing the interest of our audience. We came to the idea to give our presentation in the form of a Music Hall performance. The motivation behind this was to keep our audi...
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...ing it. Of course we would ensure that there were “catchy” phrases they could never get out of their heads!
I found this presentation to be both challenging and exciting, a perfect duo. I faced a few individual struggles but the fact that I was able to overcome them is most important. If we were to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change anything concerning what we researched and what links we made, I would only add to it. If preparation and presentation time wasn’t an issue, it would have been great to set the area out as an old Music Hall theatre, serve pub food and drinks, have variety acts and basically attempt to create a identical atmosphere to what is was like. However, I have learned an amazing amount about Commedia del’ Arte and Music Hall for the little time we had, and will take my findings and observations forward when pursuing anything to do with them.
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre A History. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
In the Baroque period, the performance venue usually was within churches and courts. These locations were not built to suit instrumental performances, and were more of just a venue to perform more than a designed venue like there is in the 21st century. Starting...
From the concrete structure of the Baroque period to the free-form structure of the Modern period each composer brings forth a new understanding and value to their time period. Within these pieces that they creatively compose it brings new light and displays the culture of the time period. The composers each have story to tell and has each creatively constructed their own works within the diameters of their era.
The two concerts that I chose to go see were Stanislaus State Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensembles & Combos Concert. These two concerts are both very similar yet different in their own ways. Each piece also has many attributes to contribute and it was fun being able to watch two very different genres.
I have been to many different concerts throughout my life but this year I experienced two exceptionally unique ___ that I had never seen before. The first one was a spectacular chamber recital that took place at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed by pianist Yefim Bronfman and violist-violinist Pinchas Zukerman. The program included Schubert's Violin Sonatina No. 2 in A Minor, Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, and Brahms’ Viola Sonata No. 1 in F Minor. The second was a performance by the notable quartet “Anonymous 4” presented by the Universality of Chicago at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. The program included a series of medieval French motets from the 13th Century French polyphony, taken from the Montpellier Codex. The two performances were extremely different in nature and but at the same time very similar in what they were trying to achieve. For instance, while the first concert consisted entirely of an instrumental performance, the other was exclusively vocal. However, both were able to bring to life great examples of iconic artists from our past. I left both c...
Putman, D. (1990). THE AESTHETIC RELATION OF MUSICAL PERFORMER AND AUDIENCE. British Journal of Aesthetics. 30 (4), 1-2.
People have dreams of what they want to do or accomplish in life, but usually musical theatre is just pushed into the non-realistic void. It isn’t a dream for me. In the past four years, musical theatre has been clarified as my reality. Musical theatre has been the only thing I have seen myself wanting to do. My first love was The Phantom of the Opera, seeing how I watched it almost every day and it was one of the first shows I saw. Of course, I started doing all of those cute shows in middle school and making a huge deal about it to my family and friends, but I have never felt so passionate about something. The minute I get up on that stage I throw away Riley for two and a half hours and it’s the most amazing feeling! Being able to tell a story
In the first part of the 20th century, musical theatre consisted of vaudeville and minstrel shows....
Russell Brown, J. 1995. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Strozzi, Barbara. Cantate, ariete a una, doce, e tre voci, Opus 3. Ed. Gail Archer. In Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era. vol. 83. Ed. Christoph Wolff. Madisono: A-R Editions, Inc., 1997.
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Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
The second period of time for music is the Renaissance period. During this time frame music was reborn and it went through a lot of changes and the way music was written and understood. In this period of time, the composers were expe...
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The theater was one of the primary forms of entertainment in Elizabethan England, as anyone, rich or poor could attend the plays.The rich would sit in boxes or galleries, while the poorer people would have to stand for the entirety of the play (Haigh). The poor would stand in front of the stage which would normally be raised about 4 to 6 feet and the theater could hold on average 3,000 people (Trumbull). The rich however usually watched plays in indoor private theaters, but sometimes would watch the plays in the outdoor public ones. Performances ...